Melbourne University has revealed it will launch a new course to fast-track teachers into the classroom after losing the tender to run the controversial Teach For Australia program.

Candidates will work in schools over three years in paid internships while studying academic subjects for the new course. Students who complete the course will graduate with a Master of Teaching (Secondary) Internship.

In June it was announced Deakin University had won the tender to run the Teach For Australia course from 2015 to 2018. The federal government has also announced it will spend $22.2 million on Teach For Australia.

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Melbourne University's Dean of Education, Field Rickards, said the new program would tackle Australia's "lack of clinically-trained teachers" particularly in regions and subjects where there are shortages. “This new course will open the door for many aspiring teachers who want to join the profession using our unique clinical approach, but can’t afford to stop working while they study,” he said.

No schools have yet been identified for the program but Professor Rickards said Victoria's three education systems – state, Catholic and independent – had shown "high levels of interest". The internship program will have a focus on maths, science and languages.

Melbourne University will accept up to 50 students per year initially. They will be in charge of a classroom after a seven-week initial training period starting in November for the coming intake.

The candidates will then begin teaching at the start of the 2015 school year while being mentored by experienced school staff.

By comparison, Teach For Australia fast-tracks non-teaching graduates into disadvantaged schools after completing six weeks’ training. The participants, known as associates, are then mentored for two years while working.

The Australian Education Union has consistently opposed the Teach For Australia program, saying it is expensive and has a high drop-out rate. It has also expressed concerns that the Teach For Australia program suggests teachers can be prepared for challenging classrooms in six weeks.

On Wednesday the union's president Angelo Gavrielatos said that all students deserved to be taught by a "well-trained, fully-qualified teacher in all subjects."

Professor Rickards said students in the internship program would be in charge of a classroom after the initial training period with support from a transition coach, school supervisor, mentor and university clinical specialist. But Professor Rickards said it would be unfortunate if the program was directly compared with Teach For Australia.

"The mentoring and modelling of experienced staff, particularly in the first two teaching terms and the sustained support over the three-year period address the challenges that candidates experience," he said. "The internship program builds on what we have learnt from nearly five years' experience in delivering the curriculum for the Teach For Australia program."

Education Minister Martin Dixon said the quality of teaching was crucial to students' "learning outcomes"."Practical experience is essential in developing student teachers, to ensure they are prepared to work in Victorian classrooms," he said.